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AT&T Sets Clearer Limits on ‘Unlimited’ Plans

By Brian X. Chen March 1, 2012 3:55 pmMarch 1, 2012 3:55 pm

Fred Prouser/Reuters

AT&T has clarified the limits of its unlimited data plan. The company on Thursday published a Web page describing what kind of data use might lead to customers being throttled, or having their data connections slowed down.

Previously, AT&T said that customers with unlimited data plans who were in the top 5 percent of data users in a given area could be subject to throttling, but it did not give any specific limits. Now the company says that customers with third-generation smartphones on unlimited plans are in the top 5 percent if they download three gigabytes of data in a month. Customers with newer smartphones that connect with AT&T’s 4G LTE network are in the top 5 percent if they download five GB of data.

“The amount of data usage of our top 5 percent of heaviest users varies from month to month,” the company said in July when it announced its throttling policy. Now that the company is firmly stating that three GB or five GB are the top 5 percent, customers will have a clearer idea of how much data they can use before they are forced into the slow lane.

AT&T has said that its throttling applies only to the top 5 percent of customers in areas with congested networks. In other words, just because you are in the top 5 percent does not mean you’ll be throttled. However, once you are throttled, speeds are reduced until the next billing cycle — even if the congestion eases in the meantime.